Longest Non-Stop Flight Titleholder 2014

Longest Non-Stop Flight

Beginning in September 29, 2014, Qantas Airways (QF) took over the duty of flying the longest non-stop flight by distance with an Airbus A380-800 (6 times weekly).

Non-Stop Flight

There have been many title holders prior to Qantas taking the rein. They included Singapore Airlines flying between Los Angeles (LAX) / New York (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) and Thai Airways flying between Los Angeles and Bangkok (BKK).

At 8,578 miles, QF 7 and 8 flying between Sydney (IATA Airport Code – SYD) and Dallas (DFW) would be the longest non-stop route served by a commercial airline eclipsing the previous champion – Delta Airlines’ flight from Atlanta (ATL) to Johannesburg (JNB).

The following are the flight path and facts for this flight:

Initially, this flight would be flown 6 days a week instead of daily and would be codeshared with American Airlines.

The rest of the Top 10 can be found below (information taken from wikipedia – refer to this link for more information)

Analysis

Qantas Airways / One World

This flight was previously flown by a 747-400 daily (in a 353 seats 4- class configuration). Although it is now flown 6 times a week , changing to an Airbus A380-800 enabled Qantas to increase seat capacity ~17% from 2,471 to 2,904 seats per week. This is eventually turn into daily when demand meets supply.

The use of the A380-800 provides a fantastic opportunity for Qantas to re-enter one of the One World partner American Airlines’ major hub in Dallas. Inbound (QF 7) allows passengers to connect in Dallas to other US East coast and Midwest cities. The nighttime outbound (QF 8) flight picks up travellers from Central/South America, Eastern / Southern / Midwest United States and Canada. Arriving 2 days later, QF 8’s passengers can connect onwards to other cities in Australia and New Zealand.

The increased capacity and code sharing with American Airlines would produce more yields and ensure that the flight would be filled.

Other Competitors

There are no non-stop flight from SYD to the US east coast direct currently. Passengers wanting to go to SYD would travel to the west coast and connect on flights from United Airlines (UA) and Virgin Australia (VA).

Star Alliance – United Airlines (UA) has non-stop flights to Sydney, Australia from its west coast hub of Los Angeles. It also serves Melbourne.

Virgin Australia works in partnership with Delta Air Lines (DL) to feed passengers on its Australian flights from the west coast.

Final Call

Qantas is maximizing the use of its Airbus A380 and takes the crown for the longest non-stop flight title. This aircraft would be able to absorb Australian travel demands year around. To end this post, here is a video of the first touchdown into Dallas.

There are a few reasons why QF7 cannot arrive in Dallas earlier.
1. Both Sydney and Dallas only have a limited number of A380 gates available for use with slots already reserved for others.
2. The longer the A380 stays in Dallas, the more money Qantas would have to pay to use the gate. QF8 cannot leave earlier as there is curfew in place in Sydney.

While arriving at 1345 may not maximize all connection opportunities, there are still well over > 100 flights available daily for passengers to connect to Eastern, Southern and Northern US. Additionally, arriving later would result in shorter layover time for flights continued flights to South America and Europe which tend to depart in the evening/night hours.